Many navigation devices—including but not limited to onboard vehicle navigation systems and map applications on handheld mobile devices—utilize global positioning system (GPS) data.
The accuracy of GPS data is affected by a variety of factors (e.g., satellite position, atmospheric effects, type of connection, etc.), and positioning error on the order of several meters is not uncommon. Indeed, the positioning error inherent in GPS data may even exceed the typical width of a lane on a roadway. As a result, the use of GPS to convey lane level traffic information from a probe vehicle traveling on the roadway may not be feasible. Moreover, if a roadway contains a plurality of adjacent lanes, the probe vehicle and/or the vehicular traffic system to which the probe vehicle reports may be unable to distinguish from which lane the probe report was submitted.
Frequent lane changes are a commonplace observance on many roadways. Oftentimes, the drivers changing lanes do so with the intention of expediting their travel times and reaching their destinations more quickly. However, the decision to change lanes is typically made without knowledge of the latent speed constraints or other limitations that may be present in the adjacent lane further up the road in the direction of travel. Thus, without knowing the looming traffic conditions in the new lane, a driver may find that the new lane—after an initial period and/or distance of improved traffic flow—may actually prove to be slower than the original lane.